Paul Merson predicts result of ‘must-win’ Everton v Liverpool Merseyside derby showdown
Everton will not be able to register back-to-back wins in the Premier League when they face Liverpool on Wednesday 24 April, according to Paul Merson.
The Sky Sports pundit believes Sean Dyche will not be able to claim his first Merseyside derby win since arriving at Goodison Park, predicting Jurgen Klopp’s side will boost their Premier League title hopes with a 2-1 win.
Klopp’s Reds head into Wednesday’s clash off the back of an impressive win over Fulham at Craven Cottage and while Merson believes Goodison will be “absolutely bouncing” he thinks the Toffees will come away empty-handed.
Writing for Sportskeeda on Tuesday (23 April) he said: “Everton got hammered by Chelsea but turned it around with a crucial win against Nottingham Forest, fair play to them.
“This is a must-win game for Liverpool to stay in the Premier League title race and the Toffees will make it hard for them in the local derby. Goodison Park will be absolutely bouncing at the thought of ending Liverpool’s title hopes, but I think the Reds will just edge it.
“As they showed against Fulham, the cream always rises to the top, which is likely to be the case again this week. Liverpool have more matchwinners on their side, which is why I’m going for an away win.
“Jurgen Klopp made a lot of changes to his starting XI last weekend, but I think the likes of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez could return to the side for this one.”
Will Everton avoid Premier League relegation ahead of Merseyside clash with Liverpool?
Everton and Dyche took a massive step towards Premier League safety with their win over Forest last time out and for the most part, the performance was excellent, barring a few fortunate calls from the officials.
That is now the standard for the Toffees between now and the end of the Premier League season. If they continue to win games in that manner, they will have an excellent chance of avoiding the drop into the Championship.
Liverpool will by no means be an easy test for Dyche’s men, but they went toe to toe with Klopp’s Reds at Anfield earlier this season and on another day they could have claimed all three points.
Hopefully, Everton can go one better than Merson’s prediction and come away with something on Wednesday night as it would go down well at Goodison Park if the Toffees dented Liverpool’s title charge.
In other Everton news, the PGMOL are set to release the VAR audio after controversy in the Toffees’ clash with Forest
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